Gift cards typically resemble a credit card or display a specific theme on a plastic card having a magnetic stripe and/or bar code thereon (typically on the back surface thereof) which contains the dollar amount of the gift card. This amount can be stored on the card itself or stored in a database controlled by the seller and cross-linked to an ID stored on the magnetic strip or bar code. These gift cards are typically purchased, activated and loaded (assigned value) at retail point of sale (POS). There is a need in the art for gift cards which can bypass POS and be activated by the purchaser, at the purchasers preferred time and place.